Changing the ADHD Brain: Moving Beyond Medication

CPD

Handouts

Speaker

Stephanie Sarkis, PhD, NCC, DCMHS, LMHC Related seminars and products

---

Dr. Stephanie Sarkis is a renowned therapist and leading expert on gaslighting and ADHD. With over two decades of experience as a clinician, author, and speaker, Dr. Sarkis has become a trusted voice in the fight against gaslighting and related forms of psychological manipulation. Her groundbreaking book, Gaslighting: Recognize Manipulative and Emotionally Abusive People – and Break Free, has become a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the devastating impact of gaslighting and how to heal from its effects. Dr. Sarkis is a frequent contributor to major media outlets including CNN, The Washington Post and Forbes. Dr. Sarkis a licensed mental health counselor, national certified counselor, AMHCA Diplomate and clinical specialist in child and adolescent counseling, and a Florida Supreme Court-certified family and circuit mediator. Her latest book Healing from Toxic Relationships is available now. Visit her website at www.stephaniesarkis.com

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Stephanie Moulton Sarkis maintains a private practice. She serves as a contributor to Forbes, The Huffington Post, and Psychology Today and is an advisory panel member for Evergreen Certifications. Dr. Sarkis is a facilitator for Collaborative Divorce. She receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Stephanie Moulton Sarkis is a professional expert for Understood.org, part of the National Center for Learning Disabilities. She is a member of the Attention Deficit Disorder Association, American Mental Health Counselors Association, Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder, and the National Board for Certified Counselors.

Objectives

1. Evaluate the relationship between the frontal lobe of the brain and ADHD symptomology for the purpose of client psychoeducation.
2. Determine the impact of movement and exercise on the reduction of ADHD symptoms as it relates to assessment and treatment planning.
3. Employ treatment interventions for improving impulse control and working memory in clients.
4. Analyze the influence of diet and nutrition on ADHD symptoms in relation to assessment and treatment planning.
5. Develop clinical strategies to calm the nervous system of clients diagnosed with ADHD.
6. Assess the clinical implications of environmental influences on ADHD symptoms in clients.

Outline

• Useful as a short-term tool
• Concerns with long-term use: Effects on the brain

• Brain imaging evidence of ADHD
• Research regarding ADHD brain development
• Frontal lobes mature more slowly in the ADHD brain
• Excess theta brainwaves
• Implications for treatment

• Wake up an underaroused ADHD brain
• Hyperactivity as an adaptive mechanism
• The impact of play and exercise on the brain
• Role of rhythm and timing training
• Integrated movement systems for ADHD

• Use it or lose it: Increase memory, attention and focus
• Games for impulse control and working memory
• Computerized cognitive training programs
• Meditation and mindfulness for ADHD
• Neurofeedback

• The impact of sugars, fats, proteins and water
• Diet and dopamine
• Omega 3-6-9: What you need to know for brain health
• Multivitamins/minerals: Do they make a difference?
• Gluten, food additives and pesticides

• ”Overaroused” subtype of ADHD
• Stress, anxiety and ADHD: the connection
• Breathwork and movement for nervous system calming
• Heart rate variability biofeedback
• Art therapy techniques to quiet and focus the brain

• Video games and Social Media
• Sleep deprivation
• Same symptoms as ADHD
• Strategies to help insomnia
• Environmental toxins: lead, phthalates, pollution
• The impact of time in nature on ADHD symptoms

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Teachers
• School Administrators
• Addiction Counselors
• Occupational Therapists
• Occupational Therapy Assistants
• Nurses
• Physicians
• Other Helping Professionals who Work with Children